Plastic pollution is a growing problem in the Great Lakes.
The group 'Environmental Defence' is pushing the Ontario government to adopt a deposit return on plastic bottles to fight the issue.
Ontario is currently one of only two provinces in Canada without a return program.
Environmental Defence Water Program Manager, Ashley Wallis, says 80% of the litter in the Great Lakes is plastic. "A lot of it is actually from land. So plastic items that are littered or I don't know if you've ever had a garbage pick up day and everything just kind of scattered on the road? All pipes lead to the lake. So, inevitably, all of the waste that's littered in our environment ends up in the Great Lakes and then it kind of works its way through the lakes into the St. Lawrence River."
Wallis also told AM800's 'The Afternoon News' that a return program could help generate revenue as well. "Plastic is definitely a problem. We know that we're seeing levels of plastic in the Great Lakes that rival the Pacific garbage patch. So what we are suggesting though is this solution which would reduce plastic in the Great Lakes could also generate revenue that could then be invested in programs and initiatives that seek to reduce algal blooms in Lake Erie."
According to Wallis, 10,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste ends up in the Great Lakes every year.
Environmental Defence and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture have submitted a joint proposal to the provincial government calling for a plastic deposit return program.